Thursday, February 14, 2019 ~ LANGFORD.
~ by West Shore Voice News
Valentine’s evening February 14 has arrived with another dump of snow. Starting around 4 pm, the Environment Canada forecast of another 5 to 15 cm of snowfall overnight into Friday morning had begun.
The City of Langford advised by 5:15 pm that the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure has implemented mandatory chain up on the Malahat, with vehicle inspections happening northbound from the West Shore Parkway.
“Winter driving conditions are in effect. Traffic is moving very slowly at this time,” says City of Langford Director of Engineering Michelle Mahovlich. “Please drive with caution.”
“People are probably getting frustrated with the weather but should still drive safely and only travel if they really need to while the snow is falling,” says Langford Mayor Stew Young.
Drivers commuting to Bear Mountain are encouraged to use the Leigh Road interchange and access the new Bear Mountain Parkway. This route remains clear for passage. The section of Bear Mountain Parkway off of Millstream Road has some abandoned vehicles on it that are being cleared.
Many businesses ground to a halt (employees not getting to work, and vehicle mobility impaired).
Even buses were having a hard time of it, throwing havoc into BC Transit bus schedules.
During the February 8 to 12 period of almost continuous active snowfall, there were 75 motor vehicle incidents (MVIs) handled by West Shore RCMP, with 26 of those involving crashes.
Temperatures are above zero around 7 pm, but will hover around zero overnight, bringing on more icy road conditions. Mainroad South Island was out mid-afternoon starting to use brine for de-icing, and ready for the snowfall as it arrived.
Tonight’s snowfall is quiet and wet, with little to no wind. There are no power outages in the west shore or pretty much anywhere in Greater Victoria as of 7 pm this evening.
- SD62 schools were open on February 14 after being closed for three consecutive snow days.
- Full west shore impact from snow on February 11: communities, services, roads and transit
- SD62 schools closed on February 11 due to snow
- Sunday night February 10: Malahat was closed for a while
- Power outages from windstorm February 8 & 9 in Greater Victoria & west shore
- Sooke residents reminded to clear snow from sidewalks in front of their properties
- Snowstorm on February 8 did not create a snowday for SD62 schools
- Outage lists are regularly updated at www.bchydro.com